Holiday Shoppers Plan their Clicks and Coupon Clips to Spend More and
Purchase Earlier

More consumers choosing Cyber Monday over Black Friday for Big Deals

October 17, 2013 01:29 PM Eastern Daylight Time

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With a late Thanksgiving and the shortest holiday shopping season in
years, consumers say they’re starting their holiday shopping sooner and
spending more this year, according to the latest American
Express Spending & Saving Tracker. While it’s still not
clear how the holiday season will actually play out, consumers say they
will expect to spend $1,260 this year, up $400 from last year. Aiming to
find the best deals, more than a quarter of Americans say they’ve
already started holiday shopping and will finish before December 1st
(27% vs. 24% in 2012), while others expect to finish a week before
Christmas (37% vs. 33% in 2012).

“We’re seeing an increased intent to spend among consumers as we head
into the critical holiday shopping season, suggesting strong enthusiasm
for hitting the aisles this year,” said David Rabkin, SVP of U.S.
Consumer Lending Products, American Express. “This is good news for
retailers who might be concerned that the shorter shopping season will
impact their sales.”

Bargain Battle: Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday

For the first time, Cyber Monday is beating out Black Friday as the most
popular shopping day, as more consumers (55% vs. 39% in 2012) say
they’ll shop the virtual blowout sales instead of fighting the crowds
the day after Thanksgiving (52% vs. 45% in 2012).

Although more will shop online, consumers still seek the thrill of the
Door Buster Deal, with 58% of Black Friday shoppers saying they’ll hit
the stores between 12am and 7am that day, similar to last year. On
average, Black Friday shoppers say they’ll splurge 53% more this year,
planning to spend $611 on average (up significantly from $398 in 2012).
Overall, shoppers will dig deeper into their wallets, as those who plan
to spend more than $1,000 on Black Friday has more than doubled since
last year (24%). Just under a third (30%) plan to spend between $500 and
$999.

Santa Gets Savvy with Spending

While Santa saves on gas with reindeer, Americans are finding other ways
to pinch pennies. Couponing continues to be a go-to strategy, with
almost half (47%) of consumers planning to use coupons or promotions for
holiday shopping. Whether clipping or clicking, most consumers (82%) say
they’ll opt for a hybrid approach to saving, shopping both in-store and
online. Top shopping destinations this year include:

Superstores (66% vs. 68% in 2012)

Department Stores (62%, up significantly from 48% in 2012)

Large Electronic Stores (45%, up significantly from 36% in 2012)

Small Businesses (38%, up from 31% in 2012)

Mainstream retail stores (36%, up from 24% in 2012)

For many, saving goes social this year as 66% plan to take advantage of
offers via social media sites, up from 60% last year. When it comes to
discounts, consumers “like” Facebook as the most popular social resource
(49% vs. 46% in 2012), followed by Groupon (43%, up significantly from
27% last year), Pinterest (20%, up from 10%) and Twitter (20%, up from
15%).

Not only will consumers maximize their budgets this year, but more of
them say they will multitask by using mobile devices to shop (51%, up
from 32% last year), browse for gift ideas (25%, up from 18%) and
compare prices with barcode scanning apps (20%, up from 12%).

No matter where they shop, consumers plan to spend more across all gift
categories, including:

2013

2012

Gift cards

61%

55%

Clothing and accessories

59%

48%

Toys and games

51%

44%

Music

38%

30%

Jewelry or watches

37%

20%

Cash

36%

29%

Perfume and cologne

35%

25%

Electronics

34%

29%

Books or magazines

31%

26%

On average, consumers say the most expensive gift this year will cost
them $538, up from $397 last year. Similar to 2012, many intend to spend
the most on their kids (42%) and their spouse or significant other
(22%), splurging an average of $415 and $683 respectively. Shoppers
won’t overlook man’s best friends, as 67% of pet owners plan to spend an
average of $178 on their pal.

Sleigh Ride Splurges and Season’s Greetings

Spending on holiday celebrations are also expected to rise this season,
with spending up from 2012, as revelers plan to attend or host parties
(54%), purchase decorations (39%), savor special dinners (35%) and take
holiday photos (26%). A whopping 75% of consumers plan to give back and
make a charitable donation, up from 65% in 2012.

Whether or not consumers can make the trip, 80% plan to spread cheer
through holiday greetings. Greeting cards (57%) and phone calls (40%)
are the preferred ways to connect, but reaching out with technology is
clearly on the rise, as Americans plan emails (34%), text messages (29%)
and Facebook posts (27%) to share good wishes.

About the American Express Spending & Saving Tracker

The American
Express Spending & Saving Tracker research was completed online
among a random sample of 1,504 adults, including the general U.S.
population, as well as an Affluent demographic defined by a minimum
annual household income of $100,000. Interviewing was conducted by
Ebiquity, formerly Echo Research, between September 20 – 23, 2013. The
results reported in this release have an overall margin of error of +/-
2.5 at the 95 percent level of confidence.

Ebiquity provides independent data-driven insights to global media,
marketing and communications professionals to continuously improve
clients' business performance. This includes specialized services in
research supporting creative testing, brand/advertising tracking,
corporate reputation, brand image, research for public relations and
thought leadership, global media/social media content analysis, and
communications research. Ebiquity acquired Echo Research in May, 2011
and Echo officially started conducting business under the Ebiquity name
on July 1, 2013. Learn more at Ebiquity.com